Marilyn T. Carr, nee Patterson, 94, of Belleville, IL, born December 10, 1930, in Coffeyville, KS, died Thursday, March 27, 2025, at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, IL.
As a young woman she was a popular member of the church choir and sang for 53 weddings before graduating from high school. She enrolled at Emporia State Teachers College where she would meet her future husband, Gerald Carr.
Marilyn spent the early years of her marriage to Jerry living in Tokyo, Washington and London before settling in Belleville where she worked as a music teacher for 23 years at Pontiac School District until her retirement. She led an active retirement taking trips to Hawaii, Japan and Europe and then later, after Jerry’s passing, she continued to travel extensively including a once in a lifetime trip to Australia. She spent the last few years of her life at the Colonnades Senior Living Center where she continued her lifelong passion for bridge.
She was a member of the Cahokia Mound Chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution, the Descendants of the Mayflower, the Colonial Danes of the 17th Century, the Belleville Literary Club, Alpha Sigma Alpa Sorority, and Sigma Alpha is lota.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 60 years, Ret. USAF Major, Gerald “Jerry” Walter Carr, whom she married on July 13, 1953, in Tokyo, Japan, and who died on January 4, 2014; her parents, Robert A. and Bess L., nee Smith, Patterson; three brothers, Dale (Lorraine) Patterson, Harold (Browna) Patterson, and Frank (Donna) Patterson; and a brother-in-law, Morris (Rodnee) Carr.
She is survived by her three children, Deborah (Kevin) McCauley, Bruce (Therese) Carr, and Lori (George) Kindler; four grandchildren, Ryan (Andrea) McCauley, Kyle McCauley (fiancée, Hannah), George Kindler III, (Liz), and Katherine Kindler; five great-grandchildren, David, Emily, and Nathan Kindler, and Adelyn and Cassidy McCauley; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cahokia Mound Chapter NSDAR in Marilyn’s honor, to directly benefit the DAR-sponsored schools that educate children in remote mountain areas. Please send to Chapter Treasurer Margaret Gravelle, 539 Highland Estates Dr, O’Fallon, IL 62269-6777. Please write checks to the order of “Cahokia Mound Chapter, NSDAR,” and note Marilyn’s name on the memo line. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.rennerfh.com.
Visitation: Friends may visit with the family from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, IL.
Funeral: Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, IL, with Rev. Cari Frus officiating.
Burial will be at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.
